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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015/05/04 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular I/I St. Louis Park OFFICIAL MINUTES MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL MEETING ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA MAY 4, 2015 1. Call to Order Mayor Jacobs called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Councilmembers present: Mayor Jeff Jacobs, Tim Brausen, Steve Hallfin, Gregg Lindberg, Anne Mavity, Susan Sanger, and Jake Spano. Councilmembers absent: None. Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Harmening), Deputy City Manager/Director of Human Resources (Ms. Deno), City Attorney (Mr. Scott), Fire Chief (Mr. Koering), Director of Engineering (Ms. Heiser), Senior Planner (Mr Walther), Community Development Intern (Ms. Mardell), and Recording Secretary (Ms. Hughes). la. Pledge of Allegiance lb. Roll Call 2. Presentations 2a. St. Louis Park Parktacular Ambassadors Introduction & Recap of Year Mayor Jacobs stated this year's Parktacular is scheduled for June 19-21 and further information is available at www.parktacular.org. Ms. Maggie Myers, co-director of' Parktacular, stated the ambassadors attended 18 parades and approximately 30 events last year and also served on various projects including handing out medals at the Special Olympics and painting fire hydrants. The St. Louis Park Parktacular ambassadors introduced themselves. Mayor Jacobs thanked all of the ambassadors for representing the community and for their service throughout the year. 2b. Recognition of Donation Mayor Jacobs expressed the City Council's thanks and appreciation to Celeste Hill for the $200 donation for a barred owl mount for Westwood Hills Nature Center. 3. Approval of Minutes 3a. Study Session Meeting April 13, 2015 Councilmember Mavity requested that the last sentence of the eighth paragraph on page 3 be revised to state "She stated she would like to see what strategies could be implemented to address the need to continue increasing capacity and reducing use." The minutes were approved as amended. City Council Meeting -2- May 4, 2015 3b. Special Study Session Meeting April 20, 2015 Councilmember Lindberg requested that the third sentence of the tenth paragraph on page 2 be revised to state "He added that the City had twice the per capita rate of off sale liquor licenses than Edina Minneapolis and he felt that Council should continue to have this conversation and/or make decisions about capping the number of liquor licenses issued by the City." Councilmember Spano requested that the fifth paragraph on page 3 be revised by adding a sentence that states "He indicated that small businesses create more jobs than big box businesses and create greater tax revenue for the community." The minutes were approved as amended. 3c. City Council Meeting April 20, 2015 The minutes were approved as presented. 3d. Study Session Meeting April 27, 2015 Councilmember Sanger requested that the ninth paragraph on page 2 be revised to state "Councilmember Sanger stated that the proposed building looked like a lot of other apartment buildings in the City and did not include distinctive architecture. She was troubled by the lack of green space around the building and was also troubled by the fact that the City was counting nearby on-street parking spaces toward the developer's required number of parking spaces because those on-street spaces are already heavily used by customers of the existing Excelsior & Grand businesses." Councilmember Hallfin requested that the seventh paragraph on page 2 be revised to state "Councilmember Hallfin stated he did not understand why the City put together task forces to come up with design guidelines and the City never seems to hold the developer to those design guidelines. He stated he was struggling with the fact that the onginal proposal included 189 units with 20 affordable units and the current proposal reduced the number of affordable units to ten (10), which was not in line with the City's housing policy guideline of 10% affordable " The minutes were approved as amended. 4. Approval of Agenda and Items on Consent Calendar NOTE: The Consent Calendar lists those items of business which are considered to be routine and/or which need no discussion. Consent items are acted upon by one motion. If discussion is desired by either a Councilmember or a member of the audience, that item may be moved to an appropriate section of the regular agenda for discussion. 4a. Accept for filing City Disbursement Claims for the period of March 28, 2015 through April 24, 2015. 4b. Accept the South Side of Excelsior Boulevard Design Guidelines. City Council Meeting -3- May 4, 2015 4c. Adopt Resolution No. 15-059 approving the Assignment and Assumption of Redevelopment Contract between Central Park West, LLC and RISLP, LLC. 4d. Designate Sunram Construction the lowest responsible bidder and authonze execution of a contract with the firm in the amount of $859,854.00 for the 2015 Connect the Park! - Project No. 4015-2000. 4e. Designate Park Construction Company the lowest responsible bidder and authonze execution of a contract with them in the amount of $3,478,587.99 for the Municipal State Aid Project Walker / 36th Street — Project #4015-1100 and to Adopt Resolution No. 15-060 authorizing installation of"No Parking" restrictions on 36th Street between Highway 169 and Texas Avenue and on Walker Street from Texas Avenue to Louisiana Avenue and Adopt Resolution No. 15-061 revising stop sign at Walker Street and W. 37th Street. 4f. Moved to 8d 4g. Adopt Resolution No. 15-063 Authonzing Installation of Parking Restnctions along Excelsior Boulevard at 4811, 4813, and 4815. 4h. Designate Pearson Brothers, Inc. the lowest responsible bidder and authonze execution of a contract with the firm in the amount of $433,536.88 for Street Maintenance Project (Sealcoat Streets-Areas 7&8—Project No. 4015- 1200). 4i. Moved to 8e. 4j Approve a parking lot lease extension for one year with MSP Property Management (Louisiana Oaks Apartments) to lease 20 parking spaces to accommodate overnight guests of Louisiana Oaks apartment complex provided a permit is displayed on the vehicle. 4k. Adopt Resolution No. 15-064 approving acceptance of a Barred Owl mount from Celeste Hill for Westwood Hills Nature Center. 41. Approve for filing Planning Commission Minutes of April 1, 2015 Mr. Harmening stated that a resident requested that Consent Calendar item 4f be removed and placed on the Regular Agenda. . Councilmember Lindberg requested that Consent Calendar item 4i be removed and placed on the Regular Agenda. It was moved by Councilmember Sanger, seconded by Councilmember Brausen, to approve the Agenda and items listed on the Consent Calendar as amended to move Consent Calendar items 4f and 4i to the Regular Agenda as items 8d and 8e, and to waive reading of all resolutions and ordinances. The motion passed 7-0 5. Boards and Commissions - None 6. Public Hearings - None 7. Requests, Petitions, and Communications from the Public—None City Council Meeting -4- May 4, 2015 8. Resolutions, Ordinances, Motions and Discussion Items 8a. Zoning Ordinance Amendments Pertaining to the South Side of Excelsior Design Guidelines Ms. Mardell presented the staff report and stated that the minimum width of a side yard abutting a street is 15' and the amendment decreases the width to 5' in the C-1 and C-2 districts. She stated the amendment requires buildings of three or more stories in the C-1 district to set stones above the second floor back by at least 10' from the front and side property line abutting a street. She stated the amendment reduces the minimum drive aisle widths from 25' to 24' in all districts and the amendment reduces the minimum parking lot aisle width from 25' to 22' and when a drive aisle is less than 24', the parking stall minimum width has been increased to 9'. She stated the Design Guidelines recommend prohibiting parking in front of a building to promote parking in the rear or side yard in all C-1 districts. She stated that in order to further define and enhance the buffer zone between commercial and residential properties, the Design Guidelines recommend increasing the height of screen fences from 6' to 8' in all C-1 properties and also requiring parking lots be set back 8' when adjacent to residential properties It was moved by Councilmember Mavity, seconded by Councilmember Spano, to approve First Reading of Ordinance Amending Chapter 36 of the St. Louis Park City Code Creating a Planned Unit Development Zoning District and to set Second Reading for May 18, 2015. The motion passed 7-0. 8b. City of St. Louis Park Emergency Operations Plan Mr. Koering presented the staff report and 2015 Emergency Operations Plan. He stated the Emergency Operations Plan represents a year's worth of collaborative effort across all departments and was discussed at length with the City Council. He advised that the Emergency Operations Plan outlines 15 Emergency Support Functions and guides and directs the command and resources during an actual event. Councilmember Sanger commended Mr. Koenng for all of his work on the Emergency Operations Plan. It was moved by Councilmember Sanger, seconded by Councilmember Hallfin, to adopt the 2015 City of St. Louis Park Emergency Operations Plan as presented The motion passed 7-0. 8c. Denial of Off Sale Intoxicating Liquor License — Thien's, Inc., dba St. Louis Park Liquor. Resolution No. 15-065. Ms. Deno presented the staff report and advised that following the full background investigation by the Police Department and discussions with the applicant, the denial of the off-sale intoxicating liquor license is based on several violations of selling alcohol to a minor, including one conviction in the last five years. She stated the City received no other information from the applicant about rehabilitation and fitness to perform the duties City Council Meeting -5- May 4, 2015 of a licensee, and the resolution details the wntten findings of fact and reasons for denial of the application. It was moved by Councilmember Sanger, seconded by Councilmember Mavity, to adopt Resolution No. 15-065 Denying Application for Off Sale Intoxicating Liquor License The motion passed 7-0 8d. Resolution Authorizing Installation of "No Parking" Restrictions on Toledo Avenue from Wooddale Avenue to 125 feet South of Wooddale Avenue. Resolution No. 15-062. Ms. Heiser presented the staff report and stated the parking restnctions are being implemented in response to a petition from residents in the 4000 block of Toledo Avenue South. Mr. Harvey Meyer, 4044 Toledo Avenue, expressed safety concerns about the area and stated when Wooddale Flats is opened, there will be more residents and visitors in the area and that might make for some poor sightlines coming in and out of Wooddale Flats. He stated that since the start of construction on Wooddale Flats, construction workers have been parking in front of his house and he wondered if residents and visitors of Wooddale Flats would use the parking spot in front of his house. Ms. Heiser stated the Wooddale Flats property was previously a school and had no parking along Wooddale Avenue because it was a school drop-off area. She advised that staff has discussed the possibility of instituting a public process about having Wooddale Avenue become a parking area for residents and visitors and will bnng this matter to Council once construction on Wooddale Flats is completed, adding there have been a lot of concerns about parking in this area and if it becomes an issue after Wooddale Flats is open, the City can extend the no parking zone around the curb. Mr. Harmening noted the City could institute permit parking for residents in this area to address the parking concerns. It was moved by Councilmember Mavity, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to adopt Resolution No. 15-062 Authorizing Installation of "No Parking" — Restrictions on Toledo Avenue from Wooddale Avenue to 125 Feet South of Wooddale Avenue — Traffic Study No 653 The motion passed 7-0 8e. 2015/2016 Neighborhood Grants Councilmember Lindberg requested that Council have a future study session discussion about increasing the grant funding to the neighborhood associations and considering opportunities for seed money for new neighborhood associations. Councilmember Brausen felt that the funds expended on neighborhood associations provided a wonderful return on dollars spent, and he would like to see the City properly funding the neighborhood associations even if grant monies are not available. City Council Meeting -6- May 4, 2015 It was the consensus of the City Council to have a future study session discussion about the grant funding made available to neighborhood associations. It was moved by Councilmember Lindberg, seconded by Councilmember Hallfin, to approve the 2015/2016 Neighborhood Grants. The motion passed 7-0. 9. Communications Mayor Jacobs announced the Ice Cream Social on Sunday, May 17th at Wolfe Park. He also announced several events planned for Arbor Day and the Community Tree Planting on Saturday, May 9th, at Bass Lake Preserve from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. He thanked Comcast and all the volunteers who participated in the recent Comcast Cares Day. Mr. Harmening thanked the homeowners who opened up their homes for the 10th home remodeling tour held last weekend. 10. Adjournment ayor Jacobs adjourne• the me- 'g at 8:08 p Melis a Kennedy, City Clerk Jeff Ja•414 M.,or